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Accessory Navicular Problems
An accessory navicular is an extra bone on the inner side of your foot. It's connected to the bone we call the "navicular," which helps form the foot's arch. Most people don't have an accessory navicular, and you can have one and not know it. But in some people, this extra bone causes problems.
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Achilles Tendon Injuries
The Achilles tendons are thick and powerful bands of fibrous tissue. They connect your calf muscles to your heel bones. The tendons help you walk, run and jump. And that means they are under a lot of stress, making injuries to the Achilles tendons common.
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Adult Acquired Flatfoot
This is a collapse of your foot's arch. It happens over time, usually in just one foot but sometimes in both. As your arch collapses, the bones of your foot may gradually shift out of alignment. This can cause pain and other problems.
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Ankle Sprains
Ligaments are fibrous, elastic bands of tissue that connect and stabilize the bones. An ankle sprain is a common, painful injury that occurs when one or more of the ankle ligaments is stretched beyond the normal range of motion. Sprains can occur as a result of sudden twisting, turning or rolling movements.
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Bunion
This deformity affects the joint at the base of the big toe. It is a bony bump beneath the skin on the inner side of the foot. A bunion starts small, but over time it can grow to become very large. Bunions are more common in women.
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Bunionette Deformity (Tailor's Bunion)
This bony bump forms on the outer side of the foot at the base of the fifth toe. Like a traditional bunion, a bunionette can be sore and painful. The skin covering the bump can become red and irritated.
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Calcaneus Fracture (Heel Bone Fracture)
This is a break of the heel bone. The calcaneus forms the back of the foot and supports you when you walk. A calcaneus fracture is a serious injury that needs medical care.
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Cavus Foot (High-Arched Foot)
This condition is an abnormally high arch of the foot that results in an excessive amount of body weight being directed to the ball and heel of the foot. Cavus foot can be congenital or acquired, may develop at any age, and can affect one or both feet.
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Charcot Foot Treatment Options
Charcot foot is a deformity that can result as a complication of diabetes and other conditions. It develops after you lose sensation in your legs and feet. The joints and bones of your foot begin to break down and collapse. You cannot feel these injuries, and you may continue to walk on the foot. This worsens the damage. Charcot foot is a disabling deformity. It can be difficult to treat, but there are techniques that can be used to correct it.
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Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)
This disease, one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affects motor and sensory nerves throughout the body. It is usually not life-threatening, and rarely affects the brain. CMT is also called hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN), or peroneal muscular atrophy.
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Charcot's Neuroarthropathy (CN)
This condition, which most often occurs as a complication of long-term diabetes, is a progressive degenerative condition that affects the foot. It is characterized by nerve damage in the foot along with severely weakened foot bones. This combination can result in a person fracturing the foot, but continuing to walk on the broken bones, which leads to debilitating foot deformity.
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Chronic Lateral Ankle Pain
This is a pain on the outer side of your ankle. It's a lasting pain that you may feel all the time. It can make it hard for you to walk and run, and it can increase the possibility of ankle sprains.
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Claw Toe
This is a common foot deformity. With it, one or more toes buckle and curl into a claw shape. Over time, a claw toe can become locked in this position. It can dig into the sole of your foot. You may have trouble finding comfortable shoes.
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Clubfoot (Talipes Equinovarus)
This is a problem that some babies are born with. One or both feet are turned inward and downward. A clubfoot is hard to push into the correct position.
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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
This is a type of chronic, long-lasting, pain. In most cases, it develops in an arm or a leg that you have previously injured. With CRPS, you may have unexplained pain that won't go away. It may be severe, and it may spread.
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Core Decompression for Avascular Necrosis of the Talus
This surgery treats a problem with the talus. That's a bone in the lower part of your ankle joint. The surgery removes bone tissue damaged by a problem called "avascular necrosis." Taking away this bad bone tissue makes space for healthy new bone to grow.
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Corns and Calluses
These are patches of rough, thick skin. Many people have them on their feet. They can form because of pressure or friction, often because of shoes that don't fit properly. Corns and calluses are your skin's way of protecting itself. They are similar, but they are two different things.
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Diabetic Foot
This term is used to describe foot problems that stem from diabetes. These problems can be difficult to treat.
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Fracture of the Heel Bone (Calcaneus)
This condition is a break in the heel bone, called the calcaneus, which forms the back of the foot. This bone supports the foot and is important for normal walking.
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Fracture of the Talus
This condition occurs when the talus, a bone that connects the foot and ankle, develops a fracture from a severe impact or fall. The talus is an important bone of the foot, as it aids in walking on uneven ground and in weight transfer across the ankle joint.
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Gout
This is a form of arthritis. It causes pain and swelling in your joints. For many people, it starts in the big toe.
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Haglund's Deformity (Retrocalcaneal Bursitis)
This condition is a bony enlargement on the back of the heel that can aggravate the retrocalcaneal bursa, a fluid-filled sac located on the back of the heel between the Achilles tendon and the calcaneus. The bursa can become inflamed and swollen, a condition called bursitis. Haglund's deformity most commonly affects young women.
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Hallux Rigidus (Stiff Big Toe)
This is a type of arthritis that affects the base of the big toe. It forms in the metatarsophalangeal joint (we call it the "MTP" joint). With hallux rigidus, the protective cartilage on the ends of these bones wears away. Bone rubs against bone. Bony growths called "bone spurs" may form. Your toe stiffens, and this can make walking uncomfortable.
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Hammer Toe
This condition is a deformity in which a toe bends downward at the middle joint. The second toe is the one most likely to be affected, but this deformity can occur in other toes as well. Sometimes, more than one toe is affected.
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High Ankle Sprain (Syndesmosis Ligament Injury)
This condition is a sprain of one or more of the ligaments that hold the tibia and fibula together at the ankle. This joint, called the ankle syndesmosis, is made up of ligaments on the front and rear of the ankle, and in the space between the tibia and fibula.
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Ingrown Toenail
This common problem happens when the edge of a toenail grows into the skin of your toe instead of over it. The nail may dig in deep. And that can be very painful.
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Joint Pain
Joint pain is a common problem for many people. It can keep you from doing the things you want to do. It can make it hard for you to be as active as you like. Let's take a moment to learn about the causes of joint pain, and what you can do about it.
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Jones Fracture
This is a break of a bone in the foot called the "fifth metatarsal." It's on your foot's outer side, behind the little toe. With a Jones fracture, this bone breaks on the end furthest from the toe. The fifth metatarsal doesn't have a good blood supply there, so healing can be difficult.
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Lisfranc Injury
This is an injury of the middle part of the foot, where the metatarsal bones of the forefoot connect to the cuneiform bones of the midfoot. It can involve torn ligaments, broken bones or a combination of both. And, it can involve more than one joint.
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Metatarsalgia
The ball of your foot absorbs a lot of stress when you run and jump. It can become injured and sore. We call this pain "metatarsalgia." The pain can keep you from exercising and from playing sports. And it can be a problem for active people.
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Morton's Neuroma
This condition is a thickening of the nerve sheath that surrounds a nerve in the ball of the foot. It most commonly develops between the third and fourth toes. It also commonly occurs between the second and third toes.
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MTP Synovitis (Capsulitis)
This condition is a sharp or aching pain in the ball of the foot that is most often centered beneath the base of the second toe. This pain is an indication that the bone at the base of the toe, called the proximal phalanx, is beginning to separate from the long bone of the foot, called the metatarsal.
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Muscle Strain of the Calf (Gastrocnemius / Soleus Strain)
This common injury is a stretching or tearing of the gastrocnemius or soleus muscles of the lower leg. One or both muscles may be affected.
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Navicular Stress Fracture
This condition is an injury to the navicular, one of the tarsal bones of the midfoot. This type of injury is common in athletes, particularly those who participate in high-impact sports that require jumping, sprinting and sudden directional changes. Track and field athletes are particularly susceptible.
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Osteochondral Lesion of the Talus
This is an injury of the protective cartilage on the top of the talus (the ankle bone). You'll find this cartilage where the talus touches the tibia and fibula (the bones of the lower leg). An osteochondral lesion can be a painful problem.
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Osteomyelitis
If you have an infection in a bone, you have osteomyelitis. It's a serious condition that can cause part of your bone to die. And, the infection can spread to other parts of your body.
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Peroneal Tendinosis
This is a swelling and thickening of the peroneal tendons. These tendons travel from the lower leg to the foot. They pass along the outer side of the ankle. Tendinosis is a long-term problem.
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Peroneal Tendon Tears
This condition is a tearing of one or both peroneal tendons, which travel down the lower leg, behind the lateral malleolus and along the outer side of the ankle.
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Peroneal Tendonitis
This condition is an inflammation of one or both peroneal tendons, which travel down the lower leg, behind the lateral malleolus and along the outer side of the ankle.
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Peroneal Tendonitis (Peroneal Tendinitis)
This is a painful inflammation of the peroneal tendons. These tendons travel from the lower leg to the foot. They pass along the outer side of the ankle. Without proper care, this injury can turn into a long-term problem we call "peroneal tendinosis."
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Pilon Fractures
This injury is a fracture at the base of the tibia (the largest of the two bones in the lower leg). Pilon fractures involve the weight-bearing surface of the tibia, and typically occur just above the ankle. In many cases, when the tibia is fractured, the thinner bone in the lower leg (called the fibula) is also broken.
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Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is an irritation of the plantar fascia. This thick band of connective tissue travels across the bottom of the foot between the toes and the heel. It supports the foot's natural arch. It stretches and becomes taut whenever the foot bears weight.
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Plantar Wart
This is a type of wart that forms on the sole of the foot. It causes a patch of thickened skin. Plantar warts are common, and they aren't harmful. But they can be tender, and they can be embarrassing.
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Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction (PTTD)
This is a problem with a tendon supporting the foot's arch. We call it the posterior tibial tendon. It connects the calf muscle to the bones on the inner side of the foot. With posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, the tendon becomes inflamed or torn. Your arch becomes unstable, and it may collapse.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) of the Foot and Ankle (Arthritis Foundation Approved)
Rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that can attack joints throughout the body, commonly affects both feet and both ankles at the same time. It can cause the joints to become swollen and possibly deformed, causing disability.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Foot and Ankle
Rheumatoid arthritis (we call it "RA") is a chronic disease. It affects joints throughout your body. It commonly starts in your hands or feet. For many people, it causes problems in the feet and ankles.
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Sesamoiditis
This injury involves two small bones under the foot near the big toe. They are called "sesamoid" bones. They aren't directly connected to other bones of the foot. Instead, the sesamoids are embedded in tendons. With sesamoiditis, these bones and the tendons around them become irritated and inflamed.
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Sever's Disease (Calcaneal Apophysitis)
This isn't a true disease, it's a painful heel condition that affects growing children. It's an inflammation of the growth plate in the heel bone (called the "calcaneus"). Growth plates are places where new bone forms as bones grow and lengthen.
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Stress Fractures of the Foot and Ankle
Stress fractures are one or more tiny cracks in a bone. These fractures are common in the legs and feet. That's because your legs and feet have to support your weight and absorb the forces of walking, running and jumping.
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Talus Fracture
This is a break of the bone that sits above the heel bone and below the lower leg bones. The talus forms the lower part of the ankle joint. A talus fracture is a serious injury that needs medical care.
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Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (Posterior Tibial Neuralgia)
This condition,
also called TTS, affects the tibial nerve in the ankle. This nerve is a
branch of the sciatic nerve. It passes from the leg down to the foot. Just
below the bony bump on the inner side of the ankle, it passes through a small
space called the tarsal tunnel. TTS is a compression of the nerve within this
tunnel. |
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Tibial Fractures
This is a break of the shinbone. That's the larger of the two bones in the lower leg. Tibias are strong bones that support most of your body's weight.